Linoleum puller



Oct. 30, 1962 R. D. JOHNSON LINOLEUM FULLER Filed April 8, 1959 Robert D. Johnson 1N VEN TOR.

United States Patent Office 3,661,351 Patentedoct. 30, 1962 3,061,351 LINOLEUM PULLER Robert D. Johnson, 5780 Turner Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah Filed Apr. 8, 1959, Ser. No. 805,089 Claims. (Cl. 294-64) The present invention primarily relates to a device for assisting in the removal of linoleum from a surface upon which the linoleum has been previously installed and while the disclosure is directed to this use, the invention has many other utilities for handling, lifting, or otherwise manipulating articles of smooth surface construction.

Heretofore it has been the practice to remove linoleum from a floor surface by scraping, chiseling or otherwise manually breaking the bond between the linoleum and the fioor surface by employing some type of sharpened instrument or the like. Therefore, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a linoleum puller which may be employed effectively for pulling linoleum up from a supporting surface such as a floor surface without requiring the use of any tools such as scrapers, chisels or the like thereby reducing the labor and effort required in removing the linoleum and at the same time expediting the linoleum removing operation.

Basically, the present invention incorporates an enlarged suction cup or suction cups having a manually operable air valve associated therewith for admitting air into the central area of the suction cup for breaking the suction for release of the suction cup from the linoleum surface, the suction cup being provided with a handle for applying upward force to the suction cup and the linoleum whereby the linoleum may be pulled upwardly by engaging the suction cup with the linoleum adjacent a side edge thereof and subsequently working and sliding the suction cup towards the center of the linoleum which may be accomplished without releasing the suction cup since the suction cup will slide along the surface of the linoleum and still maintain its attachment to the linoleum.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a linoleum puller having novel structural details incorporated therein including a handle pivotally attached thereto enabling the suction cup to be used primarily for pulling linoleum from a floor surface but which enables the device also to be used for other purposes in lifting, moving or otherwise handling any number of articles having smooth and relatively fiat surfaces to which the suction cup may be attached.

A further important object of the present invention is to provide a linoleum puller which is simple in construction, easy to use, effective in operation, long lasting, dependable and generally inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the linoleum puller of the present invention illustrating the association thereof with the corner of a piece of linoleum;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 22 of FIG- URE 1 illustrating the details of construction of the suction cup and the air release valve;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of another form of the linoleum puller of the present invention employing double suction cups and an elongated handle device for operation of the puller from a standing position; and

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken substantially upon a. plane passing along section line 4-4 of FIGURE 3 .illustrating further details of the linoleum puller.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the linoleum puller of the present invention which is to be associated with a piece of linoleum 12 adhered to a floor surface. The linoleum puller 14? includes an enlarged suction cup 14 of molded rubber construction having a sealing lip 16 and a concave hollow bottom surface 18 for engagement with the linoleum 12. The central part of the suction cup 14 is provided with a cylindrical neck 20, there being an air passage 22 connecting the concave bottom 18 with a bore or socket 24 within the neck 20.

Embedded in the neck 20 is a cylindrical valve body 26 anchored therein by provision of a peripheral flange 28 at the bottom, the valve body 26 being externally threaded and internally threaded for a portion of its distance for receiving a removable valve seat member 30 which slidably receives and guides a valve stem 32 having a valve member 34 thereon for selective engagement with the valve seat member 36. A spring 36 encircles the lower portion of the stem 32 and urges the valve member 34 to closed position. This type of valve is the type that is conventionally used on pneumatic tire inner tubes and may be of any suitable construction and is primarily a spring loaded check valve which will prevent entrance or exit of air except when the stem 32 is depressed.

Mounted on the valve body 26 is a generally rectangular mounting plate 38 held in position by a retainer nut 44 and a suitable washer on the valve body 26 and received in a recess 42 in the upper surface of the plate 38. The plate 33 is provided with a pair of integral upstanding mounting lugs or ears receiving the inturned ends of a generally inverted U-shaped handle 46 as clearly illustrated in FIGURE 1. Also carried by the plate 38 is an L-shaped spring member 48 secured by a fastener 50 and having an elongated leg 52 overlying the open end of the valve body 26, there being a depending projection 54 for engagement with the upper end of the valve stem 32 whereby the valve stem 32 will be depressed when the elongated leg 52 is depressed by manual pressure being exerted on the free end thereof thereby letting air pass into the concave area 18 for breaking the suction between the suction cup 14 and the linoleum 12 thereby releasing the linoleum 12.

Referring specifically to FIGURES 3 and 4, the numeral 69 illustrates a modified form of the invention in which two suction cups generally designated by the numeral 62 are employed and are identical to the structure of the suction cup 14 and the associated valve. In this case an elongated mounting plate 64 is employed for mounting both of the suction cups 62 and the mounting plate 64 extends beyond the suction cup 62 to provide areas for applying foot pressure to push the suction cups 62 downwardly for application to the linoleum. The mounting plate 64 is provided lugs 66 receiving pivotally the in turned ends of an inverted U-shaped bail or handle 68 which may be used as a handle and which has a threaded socket 70 formed therein for receiving an elongated threaded rod 72 having a transverse handle 74 at the upper end thereof which enables the device to be used while standing. For releasing the suction in the suction cup 62, a pair of L-shaped spring members 76 are provided and attached to the mounting plate 64 and the forwardly extending legs thereof terminate in downwardly inclined terminal end portions 78 which are interconnected by a pressure rod 80 which is adapted to be engaged by the foot or toe for downward depression thereby releasing the suction by downwardly moving the valve stems thus enabling the linoleum puller 60 to be applied by applying foot pressure and to be released by applying foot pressure for enabling the linoleum pulling operation to be carried out without stooping.

In use of either form of the invention, the linoleum removing operation starts at the outer corner or edge of the linoleum and after the edges are broken loose, the pulling device is progressively moved inwardly towards the center for removing the linoleum with the smooth surface of the linoleum enabling the linoleum puller to move inwardly by sliding along the surface of the lino leum without actually breaking the suction between the puller and the linoleum. While the device has been disclosed primarily for the purpose of pulling linoleum up from a floor surface, the device may be used for many different purposes including the handling, lifting, moving or the like of various smooth surfaced articles and materials and if desired, some type of sealant may be provided for the lip of the vacuum cup such as water, liquid or the like.

The present invention also encompasses the concept of employing a vacuum pump employed for evacuating the suction cups which pump may be any suitable type and may be communicated with the suction cups in any suitable manner. For example, it could be attached directly to the valve housing and communicated with the interior of the suction cup through the valve housing. Of course, the valve could be remotely controlled as well as manually controlled and could be remotely or manually controlled with or without the use of the vacuum pump. The use of the vacuum pump and the remote control feature for the valve would enable the present invention to be employed for various utilities and for handling various smooth surfaced articles.

Also, the size relationship and orientation of the vacuum cups may be changed depending upon the particular use to which the device is to be employed for increasing or decreasing the effective holding power of the device for adapting it for its various utilities.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a vacuum handling device, the combination of a suction cup having a cup portion and a neck thereon provided with a passage for admitting air into the cup portion, a normally closed valve provided in said passage, said valve including a tubular valve body projecting upwardly from said neck and a depressible valve stem in said body, a plate mounted on the projecting portion of said valve body atop said neck, a resilient substantially L-shaped valve actuating member having one arm thereof secured to said plate and its other arm extending above the upper end of said valve body, said other arm of said member having a free end portion constituting a depressible finger-piece, and a detent provided at the underside of said other arm, said detent being receivable in the upper end portion of said valve body and engageable with said valve stem to open said valve when said finger-piece is depressed.

2. The device as defined in claim 1 together with an outturned annular flange provided at the lower end of said valve body and retainingly embedded in said neck.

3. The device as defined in claim 1 together with a handle and means pivotally connecting said handle to said plate for swinging movement from one side of said neck to the other.

4. In a vacuum handling device, the combination of an elongated plate, a pair of suction cups secured to the underside of said plate at points spaced inwardly from the ends of the plate, normally closed valve means provided on each suction cup for admitting air thereinto, said valve means projecting above said plate and including a depressible valve stem for opening the valve means, a handle connected to said plate at points adjacent the valve means of the respective cups, end portions of said plate exteriorly of said handle constituting foot pressure pads, and means provided on said plate within the handle for depressing the valve stems of said valve means.

5. The device as defined in claim 4 together with means pivotally connecting said handle to said plate for swinging movement from one side of the plate to the other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,178,147 Gardner Apr, 4, 1916 1,218,764 Hanlein Mar. 13, 1917 2,303,393 Schmidt Dec. 1, 1942 2,620,217 Lenhart Dec. 2, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 432,042 Great Britain July 19, 1935 

